Writeup: S15 steering wheel into S14

[jt1583]

I've been running a 13" racing wheel for a long time and while I did enjoy it a lot, I am upgrading to an S15 wheel mainly to get my airbags back (cough girlfriend cough). I bought the wheel from a member here for $155 shipped but have seen them on eBay for around $200.

Here is the racing wheel I was on.



and before I get into what I had to do to get this in there, here is the S15 wheel on there. It is definitely bigger and prettier.



Before I get started, you should know there is a thorough install guide here. It is for going from stock to non-stock but there is some good information there.

Disclaimer! - always disconnect the battery and allow the vehicle to sit 30 minutes before working on the air bag system. Stay out of harms way and be careful, regardless of how many precautions you have taken. Continuing!

Here is the wheel with the airbag removed, so I can start modding it to fit. The airbag needs to be removed anyway for installation. It is held on by 2 tamper proof T-50 torx screws that I replaced with standard head M6x1.00 bolts.



Back of the wheel. The 3 holes on the extruded center column are for the blinker-off switch. More on this later.



Here is the airbag itself. It has a 2 wire connector that connects to the clock spring.



Here is the clock spring. This mounts behind the steering wheel on the steering column. It is this part that allows wire to pass from the column to the wheel and not get them tangled up as the wheel rotates. Don't rotate this piece if you don't have to! Be especially careful not to exceed the stops at each end. It has about 5.5 rotations from stop to stop. This particular clock spring is from a 97 Sentra. Unfortunately there was no connector for the airbag (yellow and white wire) and I had to dig through some pictures to find that the yellow here goes to yellow on the airbag, and white to blue.



Here is the notorious interference between the clock spring and the wheel. Here it looks harmless, like it's just a simple plastic tab blocking the way.



Marked in sharpie is the plastic portion I removed to be able to install the clock spring.



After dremeling that part off I realized it was actually the slanted metal portion, with the text "F33.25" on it that is the real obstruction. I have read that most people prefer to go to town on the metal part, but I think that was too much work for me and my dremel. If you do decide to go for it, it is at least aluminum and should go away easily.



What I decided to do instead was cut away at the connector in the back that interferes with the steering wheel. This wasn't too pretty but I got it to work. I pretty much needed to make the 90* angle into a lower 45* angle between the two sides. This picture is the in-between, after this I removed the tabs, put a strip of tape over what was left and epoxied it down/together.



With the fit confirmed, I installed the clock spring onto the steering column. I am using insulated spade connectors to connect the airbag to the clock spring, and I am also running my horn threw a direct wire to the horn relay. I had it setup like this from when I changed to the racing wheel and decided to stick with it. It's not as ghetto as it sounds, I have a fused sub harness with 5 wires running from the engine bay to the cabin, for anything I need to do (like this).



Before installing the wheel, make sure the driving wheels are dead straight on, that the clock spring is in the very most center it can be (and still mount to the wheel via the white 'pin'), and the blinker-off blue switch will mate with the piece on the steering wheel. This is all pretty easy so long as you do it before with the old wheel, and line the clock spring up properly. Install the big 19mm nut onto the shaft to secure the wheel in place.



The last step is to bolt up the airbag, connect everything, and install the side covers. All done.



Again, the finished product:



Today is my first day driving with it, an honestly I find it a bit big. It should not feel any different to S14 wheel users, it will just be prettier. I am sure I will get used to it, and it definitely helps until I get my power steering working.

[coup-emonster]

thanks for the write up man, not looking to do this to any car soon, but its always helpful to know that i can look this thread up..very nice direct thread man keep upp the work.

[PITCH]

Subed.. Thanks

[manny(ΣAE)]

pics are down... :/

[97SerevoSX]

Originally Posted by manny(ΣAE)

pics are down... :/

Pics are still down.

[TheRealSy90]

I'm not familiar with that website that he used to host those pics. Tried to get the pic links working..

[mewantkouki]

This doesn't need a writeup... 96-98 cars this wheel is literally a direct fit. For 95 you have to trim the plastic square on the clock spring with a dremel tool or exacto-knife for it to fit in the back of the s15's wheel. There's no wiring involved, the SRS connector and horn plug are the same as well.

[97SerevoSX]

If you can find an S15 wheel with the airbag inflator. Unfortunately mine did not come with one because they are not allowed to ship the gunpowder over form Japan anymore.
I have also read that some connectors were different than others. That may have been for a different gen though if what you're saying is true across the board.

[Adrisx]

Any have the pics? Cant see it